


Take a Chance on Her

by TheonnaQueen



Series: Pilots & Spies [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: 3 ABY, Alternate Universe - Happy, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-12 12:09:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,084
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29759424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheonnaQueen/pseuds/TheonnaQueen
Summary: Sometimes you just need one person to believe in you to change your whole life.Zilka knows Alys will make a good intelligence agent, she just needs to get General Cracken on the same page.
Series: Pilots & Spies [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2175513





	Take a Chance on Her

**Author's Note:**

> Dramatis Personae:  
> General Airen Cracken, Human Male - Intelligence Commander, Alliance to Restore the Republic (Rebellion)  
> Zilka Darkmoon, Human Female - Intelligence Agent, Alliance to Restore the Republic (Rebellion)  
> Toby, Bothan Male - Intelligence Agent, Alliance to Restore the Republic (Rebellion)  
> Alys Esme, Human Female

Alliance to Restore the Republic Mobile Base

3 ABY

Zilka blew a strand of blue hair off her face, frowning a little when she noticed more silver streaks. The longer this war went on the older she was going to look and not just feel.

Finally the door to the council chamber slid open and Mon Mothma glided out closely followed by several aides. Admiral Ackbar swiveled his large eyes at her and seemed to say ‘good luck,’ before calling after the Rebellion’s leader. General Madine entered the corridor next and barely acknowledged her while pulling out his comm and hurrying in the opposite direction.

Something big was going to happen soon. Maybe they were finally ready to hit back.

“Agent Darkmoon,” General Cracken said, interrupting her thoughts.

“Sir,” she said and fell into step with him.

“I still think she is too young and too inexperienced.” He had a knack for cutting to the heart of the matter.

“She caught me, me, the Rebellion’s best infiltrator. I snuck into an Imperial Compound, I was meters from Palpatine, and she caught me.”

He paused and drew her into an alcove next to a viewport.

“Just give her a chance.” She put a hand on his arm.

“Her temper is out of control.” He pulled himself free, turning to stare at the blackness of space.

“You didn’t see her when I first brought her in.” She sighed. “One eye was almost swollen shut, she had finger shaped bruises on her legs,” she tried to quell the sick feeling at what that implied, “and I held a blaster centimeters from her face and she didn’t even flinch.” She turned to look up at him. “Whatever she has been through, which she isn’t talking about, is enough to make anyone angry. At least it hasn’t made her shut down completely. We’ve both seen what happens to women like that.”

He scratched his thinning short red hair.

“We just need to give her anger a direction,” she said softly. “She brought with her enough intel to bring down most of the criminal organizations on the Outer Rim.”

“Which would be great,” he sighed, “if we had the authority, or time, to be policing those things.”

“I’m just asking you to give her a chance. Let her get some field experience.” She put a hand on his arm again. “Airen, please, it’s me asking.”

He closed his fingers over the top of hers and she knew she had him.

“As I recall she has a proclivity for pyrotechnics,” he said in a resigned tone.

“You mean she has been blowing up stuff since she got here,” she responded with a smirk. “In all honesty, I think those x-jocks will think twice about what consent means in the future.” 

“We already have trouble keeping those ships repaired without our own people causing damage.”

Zilka smiled. “Like I said, we just need to give her anger an outlet. A productive one that helps the cause.”

“She doesn’t have the experience for solo missions and I can’t exactly break up partnerships.” He frowned down at her.

“Toby has offered to train her and if everything works out, to have her as a partner.”

His eyebrows almost reached his hairline. “Toby? The Bothan Toby? The one that I’m pretty sure is supplying Fey’lya with classified information?”

She tsked and shook her head. “Airen, Airen, Airen. You have been stuck in committee meetings much too long.”

“That’s right,” he started to walk away, “I’m supposed to be finding General Calrissian.” 

She hurried to keep pace with him. “They had a falling out. Toby thinks Intelligence needs to be working together and not having secondary agendas.”

He spun on his heel. “The Bothan Spynet has a secondary agenda?” He asked in mock shock.

“Who knew.” She shrugged with a laugh. “But this could be the start. Toby offered to train her. What if this is what makes it easier to work with the spynet?”

“And you think that … that … angry child will make that happen?”

“She has a name.”

“If Alys Emse is even her real name,” he muttered.

“Do names really matter?”

“They do if she’s feeding information to the Imperials.”

“Which she isn’t,” she said exasperated. “That’s why we have such intense procedures before anyone can join.” But then a smile crossed her face. “So you think she is a good spy.”

“I didn’t -”

“If you have even an inkling that she could be hiding something then you have to realize her potential.”

He sighed. “Why do I put up with you?”

“Because I’m the best partner you ever had?”

“Junior partner, on loan from Grimwald for special assignment.”

She chuckled. “Partner.”

He shook his head. “Fine. You can set Toby and Alys up as partners and get them in the field agent rotation, but Zilka, I will hold you responsible if her inexperience costs us. We are so close to ending this.”

“Yes sir.” She gave him a little salute to which he shook his head again.

She practically skipped down the corridor. She knew Alys would be a good agent and now she had the chance to prove it.

~ * ~

“There.” Zilka pointed to a scrawny redheaded girl in the middle of a crowd of much taller Beings.

“The little one?” Toby asked, his blond fur rippling.

“You said you wanted to train a new agent. She’s our newest agent.” She didn’t tell him Alys didn’t have official agent status yet.

“She always pick fights like this?”

“I think it’s the only way she knows how to deal with situations.” Zilka shrugged. “It’s why she needs you.”

His fur continued to move in a contemplative way before he smoothed the short hair covering his face and strode across the galley. Zilka watched as he put a hand on what looked like the ringleader’s shoulder and effortlessly tossed him into a table. Alys used that opportunity to kick the groin of the nearest Being and they went down hard. She was about to kick again when Toby got a hand around her arm and lifted her from her feet. She swung at him several times before he said something and she calmed. He turned to the Beings still watching and they scattered, picking up their fallen friends as they fled.

Zilka smiled as Toby slowly walked Alys in the direction of the marksmanship simulators. She knew she had made the right decision. Those two would do a lot of good for the Alliance.

**Author's Note:**

> This is set in a Happy AU of the sequel trilogy with of the original trilogy and Star Wars legends included.
> 
> Since this is AU, here are some minor changes, mostly to the Sequel Trilogy events, using information from Before the Awakening by Greg Rucka. Instead of Lieutenant Muran dying when his starfighter is caught in the Yissiria Zyde's hyperspace wave he is only injured. This still results in Rapier Squad (with Muran) leaving the Republic to join the Resistance.
> 
> Events of The Last Jedi are also altered. The Resistance manages to evacuate D'Qar without losing the bombers and most of the starfleet. They are caught by the First Order over Crait. The bridge is still attacked but not as bad. This means Leia and Ackbar are badly injured but live and Holdo is put in temporary command. Poe still tries to mutiny and they do get into the escape pods but instead of using the Holdo Maneuver on the Supremacy, she rams the ship to disable it and give time for The Echo of Hope (the starcruiser mentioned in Before the Awakening) to reenforce them. Everyone lives and manages to escape Crait.
> 
> Events of The Rise of Skywalker are only altered to allow Snap Wexley, Leia, and almost everyone to survive the Battle of Exegol.


End file.
